Surfboard control device

ABSTRACT

A surfboard control device comprising a foot stirrup that is secured to the upper surface of a surfboard along its longitudinal axis, which stirrup holds the foot of the surfer to the surfboard during surfing and aids in turning the surfboard by allowing the surfer to exert upward force on the board through cooperation with the surfer&#39;&#39;s other foot, and aids both experienced surfers and beginning surfers in accurately positioning their feet on the surfboard, which position is established by trial and error and identified on a scale.

0 United States Patent 1111 3,593,356

[72] Inventor GeneN.Schmalfeldt 2,740,972 4/1956 Taylor. 9/310 3509 RivieraDrive.SanDiego,Calif. 3,134,992 6/1964 Tyll. 9/310 92109 3,308,493 3/1967 Lambach 9/310 [211 vp 806,365 FOREIGN PATENTS 821,162 11/1951 Germany 3. 9/310 [45] Patented July20,l97l

[54] SURFBOARD CONTROL DEVICE 7 Claims, 6 Drawing Figs.

[50] Field of Search 9/310; 280/1 1.13

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,664,578 1/1954 Clinedinst 9/310 Primary Examiner-- Milton Buchler Assistant Exam iner- Paul E. Sauberer AttorneyCarl R. Brown ABSTRACT: A surfboard control device comprising a foot stirrup that is secured to the upper surface of a surfboard along its longitudinal axis, which stirrup holds the foot of the surfer to the surfboard during surfing and aids in turning the surfboard by allowing the surfer to exert upward force on the board through cooperation with the surfers other foot, and aids both experienced surfers and beginning surfers in accurately positioning their feet on the surfboard, which position is established by trial and error and identified on a scale.

PATENTEUJULZOIHT; 3 593 355 INVENTOR. GENE N. SCHMALFELDT ATTORNEY SURFBOARD CONTROL DEVICE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Surfing has become a major sport. So there are many surfers, beginners and experienced Surfers, that are constantly improving their skills and techniques in the sport. While some advancements have been made in controlling surfboards, such as in the positioning of the fin on surfboards, the surfer still must control the surfboard through shifting his feet and weight on the surfboard to achieve optimum balance and control for given wave sizes, surfing conditions and size and techniques of the surfer. While the surfer may press his feet and shift his weight against the board, the surfer is merely standing on the top of the board and any downward movement of the board tends to separate the board from the surfer and decrease his control. While experienced surfers. are more adept at quickly establishing the desired position of the feet on the smooth upper surface of the surfboard {Qt given surfing conditions, which experienced surfers. can quickly check by glancing at the board and yet not lose their balance, beginning surfersfind this technique very difficult to, learn, Further, even experienced surfers often, find it difficult to. accomplish this technique in many surfing conditions. Thus! this. difficulty along with the problem. of maintaining a positionon the top-of the smooth surfboard, restricts even. themost experiencedasurfers ability to ride, waves at a higher point, on the wavesor at optimum speed and control.

Thus it is advantageous. to havea surfboard controlfdevice.

that allows all surfers to. establish given foot.positions on.:a v surfboard and to hold-their feetat; these. givenupositionsto achieve a greater degree of surfboardcontrol;

SUMMARX OF THE-INVENTION In an exemplary embodimentofthis.invention; the-surf board control device comprises afoot stirrup that issecured to 1 the uppersurface of .a surfboard .andholds thesurfers-foot at a given position .on the surfboard. Thefootstirrup is movable. longitudinally on the surfboard, allowing the foot stirrupto be: moved to optimum positions-and to. .be rigidly v held at these;

positions. The surfboard controldevice. has-indiciarwith a scale positioned alongitslongitudinal movement-that allows the surfer to identifyand remember given positions of the foot stirrup.

Inone embodiment the foot stirrup is secured to a pair. of

the position of the stirrup. lnanother embodiment, the foot stirrup is secured to a plate member that is held by apair. of fasteners in a longitudinal recess. inthe surface of .the surfboard. Thefoot stirrup is normally provided for the forward foot of the surfer, be it the surfer's left foot orright foot, and is cantedat an angle to correspond with the angularposition of l the forward foot on the surfboard. Thecanted position may=be selectively. adjusted as. desired to the individual taste of thesurfer. The surfer is thus ableto insert his foot into the stirrup and hold the forward footto the. surfboard.while'movingthe rearward foot as necessary to establishbalanceand-to turn the board duringthe ride.

It is therefore an .object of this invention to provide a new and improved surfboard control device.

It is another object of this invention to providea new and improved surfboardcontrol device that.allows experienced surfers to achieve higher degrees-of skill in surfing-and increases the experienced surfer's abilityto turn and control the surfboard.

It is anotherobject of this invention. to providea new and. improved surfboard control dcvicethat allows beginning surfers to establish given foot positionson a surfboard and .to'hold their feet in thesepositions during-surfing. I

It is another object of this invention to provide a new and improved surfboard control device that is inexpensive to make, is easily installed on a surfboard, and that improves the surfing skill of all surfers. 7

Other objects and many advantages of this invention will become more apparent upon a reading of the following detailed description and an examination of the drawings wherein like reference numerals designate like parts throughout and in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a surfboard with an embodiment of the surfboard control device positioned thereon.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a partial view of a holding member of the embodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view with parts broken away of the foot position of a surfer using the surfboard control device.

FIG. 5 is a top' plan view with parts broken away of a modified embodiment of the surfboard control device.

FIG. 6 is across-sectional view taken along lines 6-6'of FIG. 5.

Referring now to FIG. 1, anormal surfboard 10', that may be of any known design having'a shorto'r long lengthand rriade of any. suitable; materials, hasa pair of longitudinal stra'priiembers 14' and lfisecured thereon. These straps'may be made of any suitable materiahsuch as'plastic, fiberglass, aluminum or the like, and are securedto the upper substantially flat surface of the surfboard in any known-manner such asby screws 21 positionedtat' spaced intervals.- The strapfm'embers 14 and 1 6 have a'plurality of holes 22 along-the length thereof. These holes are'threaded to receive the screws'18thatsecure'the' stirrup member 12; The-foot stirrup'member 12 may be made of flexiblematerial, such as plastic orother' suitable known materials. It may be understood that'if th'e' strap members '14 and 16- are aluminum, then theh'oles22 may be threaded to directly receive the ends of th'e'fastening' screws 182' However if the straps-'M areof plastic material; then boltsmay beer'n" meet: different foot positions may beselectively adjusted by relative movement of the fastening screws 18'and19. This adidentifyingthe-longitudinal position of the stirrup. Both the straps l4 and 16 have such indiciascaled thereon to addi- V tionally allow the surfer to cant the foot stirrup to set angles.

Referring now toFIG. 5,a modified embodiment'of the surfboard control device of this invention employs a flat, thin,

stirrup-holding member'30 that maybe made of plastic, aluminum or any othersuitable thin andlightweight material. A

channel :32 is provided in the upp'er'surface of the surfboard. This channel may be grooved in the'surfboard or'may'comprise'a channel:48' of plastic; aluminum orother'suitable" material that hasa narrow slot 32 and an enlarged longitudinal openingSl. Fastening members 36"securethe plate inembcr 30 10 the surfboard l0 and each have'a rotatingba'r member 46" witha length slightly smaller thanthe width of the opening 51- and a width that is slightly-smaller than the slot 321 The bolt 36 threadably engages the member46 and thus draws the member against thesurface 52 to secure the plate30 in position. Plate 30 has-spacers 44*of suitable resilientmaterial, such as plastic foam-or the like alongits outer side edges that beddedat appropriate locations to form the threaded holes cross grooves in the surface 52 of the shoulder of the slot 32 in member 48 to provide a more rigid holding of the fastener members 36 at given longitudinal positions in the slot 32.

The plate 30 has a plurality of holes 31 that are threaded to coact with screws 42 to hold the stirrup 40 in selected positions. Holes 31 allow the stirrup 40 to be canted as desired for different surfers. Scale 34 allows identification of the longitudinal position of plate 30 and thus stirrup 40.

ln operation, the stirrup surfboard control device is secured to the surfboard and is positioned at a given longitudinal location along the length of the surfboard. The surfer places his feet substantially as illustrated in FIG. 4, with the forward foot 26 in the stirrup and the rearward foot 28 positioned as necessary to control the surfboard. The foot 28 is moved from side to side on the surfboard with appropriate weight shifting to make the surfboard turn. Normally the position of foot 26 establishes the relative position of both feet along the length of the surfboard. This relative positioning can be established by trial and error in given surf conditions. For example, the stirrup 12 is normally moved forward for larger waves and moved rearwardly for smaller waves with the rear foot 28 being moved to the right strap for right turns and to the left strap for left turns. The latter features allow a less experienced surfer to position his feet through feel on the longitudinal members 14 and 26 and thus gain quicker and more rapid experience in the correct positioning of his feet. For the more skillful surfer, he would of course establish through trial and error the exact desired position. it will also be recognized that all surfers may shift the weight on the foot 28 and lift to a slight degree with foot 26 against the stirrup 12, thus in effect lifting up the front of the board. This greatly increases the ability to turn and skillfully maneuver the surfboard.

Having described my invention, 1 now claim:

1. A surfboard control device for surfboards on which the surfer places both feet at selected positions thereon in controlling movement of the board on waves comprising,

a foot stirrup for being secured to the upper surface of a surfboard and holding a surfers foot at a given position on the surfboard,

means for longitudinally positioning said foot stirrup on said surfboard,

said positioning means includes a longitudinal channel in the surface of the surfboard, and fastener means that fits into said channel for fixedly securing said stirrup at any given position along the length of the channel. 2. A surfboard control device as claimed in claim 1 includa thin plate that is secured by said fastener means to said surfboard, and said stirrup is secured to said plate. 3. A surfboard control device as claimed in claim 2 in which,

said fastener means comprises at least two bolt members that are aligned fore and aft in said channel, and said plate having a resilient spacer on it surface adjacent the surfboard.

4. A surfboard control device for surfboards on which the surfer places both feet at selected positions thereon in controlling movement of the board on waves comprising,

a foot stirrup for being secured to the upper surface of a surfboard and holding a surfers foot at a given position on the surfboard,

means for longitudinally positioning said foot stirrup on said surfboard,

a pair of longitudinal members for being secured to said surfboard surface at spaced-apart locations and parallel to the longitudinal axis of the surfboard,

and said stirrup comprises at least a strap member that is secured at each end to one of said longitudinal members.

5. A surfboard control device as claimed in claim 4 in which,

said longitudinal members are raised above the surface of said surfboard, whereby the surfer's feet can contact said longitudinal members to orientate his position relative to the surfboard and said stirrup.

6. A surfboard control device as claimed in claim 4 includmg,

means for selectively varying the angle of said stirrup to said surfboard axis.

7. A surfboard control device as claimed in claim 4 includmg,

indicia means positioned along the length of said positioning means for identifying positions of said foot stirrup. 

1. A surfboard control device for surfboards on which the surfer places both feet at selected positions thereon in controlling movement of the board on waves comprising, a foot stirrup for being secured to the upper surface of a surfboard and holding a surfer''s foot at a given position on the surfboard, means for longitudinally positioning said foot stirrup on said surfboard, said positioning means includes a longitudinal channel in the surface of the surfboard, and fastener means that fits into said channel for fixedly securing said stirrup at any given position along the length of the channel.
 2. A surfboard control device as claimed in claim 1 including, a thin plate that is secured by said fastener means to said surfboard, and said stirrup is secured to said plate.
 3. A surfboard cOntrol device as claimed in claim 2 in which, said fastener means comprises at least two bolt members that are aligned fore and aft in said channel, and said plate having a resilient spacer on it surface adjacent the surfboard.
 4. A surfboard control device for surfboards on which the surfer places both feet at selected positions thereon in controlling movement of the board on waves comprising, a foot stirrup for being secured to the upper surface of a surfboard and holding a surfer''s foot at a given position on the surfboard, means for longitudinally positioning said foot stirrup on said surfboard, a pair of longitudinal members for being secured to said surfboard surface at spaced-apart locations and parallel to the longitudinal axis of the surfboard, and said stirrup comprises at least a strap member that is secured at each end to one of said longitudinal members.
 5. A surfboard control device as claimed in claim 4 in which, said longitudinal members are raised above the surface of said surfboard, whereby the surfer''s feet can contact said longitudinal members to orientate his position relative to the surfboard and said stirrup.
 6. A surfboard control device as claimed in claim 4 including, means for selectively varying the angle of said stirrup to said surfboard axis.
 7. A surfboard control device as claimed in claim 4 including, indicia means positioned along the length of said positioning means for identifying positions of said foot stirrup. 